From a December 1951 session in New York for Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet to an October 1958 date in LA for Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders, this set of 21 classics forms a concise summary of this jazz legend's early recording career. From "Airegin," "Doxy," and "Oleo" (drawn from Miles Davis's Bags' Groove) to "Valse Hot," "Pent-Up House," and "St. Thomas," most of the compositions are Rollins originals, and they display his warm sound and gift for melody. Liner notes are by music journalist Bob Blumenthal, coauthor of Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins.